Mom's Christmas Cactus

Julie has been working with Mom's Christmas cactus, trying to get it to bloom. Whatever she did, it worked!

Christmas Day 2008

Quiet and restful. We watched Mama Mia at Elaine's house, and parts of A Christmas Story. We visited and talked. Lauren was sick, and Leah was still feeling a little puny.

Christmas Eve 2008

We started the day at Joe's cardiologist. Dr. Martin gave Joe a relatively clean bill of health, and took him off of some of his meds. From there we went shopping for white elephant gifts for the party on Saturday, and made a quick grocery run. I snuck in a nap, and then made appetizers. Leah was sick all day, running a fever and throwing up. Finally, we could celebrate Christmas. We took Tyler to 5:00 Mass. It was beautiful. There must have been at least 50 Poinsettias on the alter! I got a bit weepy thinking about Mom.
The evening at Julie's house was nice. It was low key and quiet, until Ty unwrapped his present.







Mom laughs as Dad reloads the weapon.

Grandpa shoots Tyler - no worries - only Nerf darts!




Leah was able to open her present - Baby Alive that wets and wiggles - and give me a smile.

Shalom

Shalom means inner peace; it means we are not alone; Shalom addresses and calms our fears; it leads to justice and personal integrity. Shalom is a yearning for peace as only God can give it. Shalom is a gift of the grace of God. Shalom, offered from one person to another, says, "All the blessings of God that I wish for myself, I also wish for you. I can ask nothing less for you."

And so I wish you true Shalom. May this season bring you that grace and blessing that only the simple presence of the Christ Child in each heart can achieve. I hope my presence in your lives has enriched you in some small way.

Leah and Ty Visited Today

Julie had an appointment, and no one to watch the kids, so they visited Grammie and Grandpa this morning. Leah and I cooked lunch for JR (and everyone else).

Leah really loaded up her pizza with pepperoni.

Tyler waited patiently with Rocky..

And Sammie sunned himself on the living room floor.

Leah's going for a bite!

We Can Do No Great Things

At Christmas, many of us feel pressured to do great things. We can't send out just any card; we can't give just any gifts; we can't have just any celebration. We are commemorating, after all, the single greatest event in human history. This is Christmas, and what we do to recognize it must be great. Inevitably, though, we will fall short of the kind of greatness we have in mind.

Thankfully, the kind of greatness God asks of us is not as complicated as we sometimes make it ourselves. The kind of greatness God demands has nothing to do with ribbons or wrapping, packages or presents. The kind of greatness Christ seeks comes from small, ordinary things done with great love.

"We can do no great things," Mother Teresa of Calcutta once reminded us. "Only small things with great love."

I pray that God will help me see the small things. And do them with great love

Cookbook Production is Under Way

This afternoon, Joe and I are working on assembling the cookbooks. My part is finished. I have burned the CD's, made the front and back cover, put together the tabs, table of contents, tips page, and the birthday list. The books just needs the recipes - the most important part! Joe is supposed to be punching holes. Right now he's taking a break (I guess he gets a 15 minute break - so he can work on laundry!). Here are some pictures. Two books are ready.

My Fabulous Sister

Here is a shout out to my fabulous sister Carolyn, who talked with me today about something that was bothering me, who listened to me, and who made me feel FANTASTIC!
Thank you, Carolyn. I love you.

Anniversary

Today Joe and I celebrate 28 years of marriage. We spent the morning together. And we will be visiting with friends this evening.
I was hoping we could go out to dinner last night, but Joe and Les had some problems with the U-Haul they rented for their Michigan trip - so Joe and I were not home together until 8:00PM. That's a little to late for me to be going out again after I worked all day. Once I'm home I usually don't want to go out again. I really don't want to if I've been home for an hour. So we had leftovers.

Joe has offered me his hole punching services tomorrow. What a wonderful husband! He has even seen the pile of paper we have to punch holes in! I admit I was, at first, a bit ambiguous about him helping me. I was afraid he wouldn't punch the wholes right! Especially after I had trouble with the first copy I made. I'm sure he'll do a great job, probably better than I did on the test copy because he is so detail oriented. My responsibility will be cookbook assembly - Joe will be responsible for the holes.
I love it when we work together.

Christmas Parties

I have been given my assignments for the Christmas parties at Elaine's house. Two appetizers on Christmas Day, and a fruit salad. One appetizer and a vegetable for Saturday. I'm going to try and cook everything from the cookbook.
Speaking of that - the books have been replicated, the binders are on order. I just have to punch holes in about 1500 sheets of paper (not exaggerating there). Guess what I'm doing Sunday!

Our Trip to the Hospital

Joe was in the hospital again on Monday for another angiogram. I've been praying to Mary for his healing. I put his name on the prayer list at church. The results are in - there is no progression to his artery disease. His arteries look good, and are flowing as they should.
It's weird - we were a bit disappointed at first that there was nothing for the doctor to "fix". But his nurse (Tammy) put it in perspective for us - the news was excellent - his disease was not getting worse, and we have, for now, halted it's advancement! So - excellent news.
As for the problems that caused us to be there on Monday - the cardiologist is treating Joe with changed meds, and has testing his A1C - the indicator of how his diabetes numbers have been over the past 3 months.
Joe has been back on the diabetes medicine called Actos since August, and has gained about 20 pounds. His clothes are tight, his rings are tight, and he is snoring a lot when he sleeps (which is why I'm blogging at 1 A.M.). We decided he should go off the Actos and talk to his PCP about changing to something else when he sees him early in January. His PCP took him off Actos in May because we did not have insurance and the cost was $300 / month. When we got insurance again, we started back up.
So - that's where we are right now. As I said, I prayed to Mary for Joe's healing. I thought healing meant the doctor would find the problem in his arteries and fix it. What I got was - there is nothing wrong. A different healing than I thought - and truly a better one. Thanks to Jesus, and his mother Mary for coming to our aid, hearing our prayers, and answering them.

Popcorn Cake, and Other Things

Tyler and Leah came to visit again today, while Mom and Dad went to the football game. Leah asked me first thing, what are we cooking today? She and I so enjoy working together in the kitchen. So, after a trip with Grandpa to the grocery store, and lunch, Leah and I made a popcorn cake. She had so much fun with it, even if It was a bit gooey (how perfect for a 5 year old!).
I've been making recipes from my soon to be printed family cookbook. Last time Ty and Leah were here we made Bill's Monkey Bread and Bob's chili. Today we made the popcorn cake, and Julie's Meatball Pot Pie for dinner. Since I'm giving a copy of the family cookbook to all my siblings for Christmas, I hope everyone gets as much use from it as I am.

Santa Killers

Santa killers? Who was the person in your life who told you Santa wasn't real? For my boys, it was the kids at school who told them Santa was their dad.
I was blog surfing today and read this story. Be prepared to laugh! http://hisgirlsblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/year-we-ruined-christmas.html

Christmas this Year

I am preparing for a change in the holiday traditions this year.
It's will be a weird time this year. Joe and Les will be in Michigan for Christmas, Matt can't make it home. We decided not to purchase a live tree, but to make do with the snowman tree this year. This is partially because of Joe's health, partially because of money. We can find a better use for the $50 - $70 dollars. We're going to Julie and Curt's house on Christmas Eve, instead of having it at our house. On Christmas morning, for the first time in 28 years, Joe and I will be alone. I'm preparing myself.

One thing will not change. Where ever we are, we will celebrate the birth of Jesus. We will celebrate the love of family, near and far. Love remains, even tough family is not physically here.

The Little Drummer Boy

The Little Drummer Boy is one of my favorite Christmas carols. It's about a young boy who visits the newborn Jesus, but has no gift to offer him. He does not have the gold, frankincense or myrrh, and instead offers a simple song on his small drum. It seems silly to think this sweet boy would worry that his gift was not good enough for the Lord. I have always loved this song. It’s a beautiful reminder that when we generously offer the very best of ourselves – even when that means something less than glittery or polished – it indeed pleases God. Jesus loves us for who we are, regardless of what “real” talent we have to offer – because when we offer him ourselves, when we hold back nothing and give him everything – then there is nothing else he wants from us.

Cookbook Progress

Today I worked on adding some more recipes to the cookbook. The plan is to start publishing by the end of this week. The deadline is looming!

First Saturday in December

Ty and Leah spent Friday night with us. They woke up early - 6:40AM - and the day began. Leah helped me make Monkey Bread (Bill's recipe) for breakfast, and sausage links. She and Ty watched a Christmas video and played with Ty's play station - as we tried, without success, to not wake the house up.

We put up the kitchen Christmas tree - the "Snowman Tree".

We played in the snow.

And Leah and I - started a pot of Chili - Bob K. style.

All before their mom picked them up at noon. Whew!

Here we go again

We went to see Joe's cardiologist - Dr. Martin - today because Joe has been feeling poorly for the past couple of weeks. Looks like we're back to the hospital on December 15th so Dr. Martin can take a look. He'll be getting another angiogram.

Please pray to Saint Bernadette, Patron Saint of the sick.

Isaiah 41:10
Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.